Those were boxing insiders’ first impression right after Brook surprised everyone with his hurriedly signed contract to face Golovkin at the middleweight limit of 160 pounds which is two notches above his regular fighting weight of 147 pounds.
But now, Brook is saying that he feels better and even stronger after he ballooned to over 160 pounds weeks after he made the adjustments.
“I’m normally heavy. Not as heavy as I am now but with the science behind it, I’ve been working my legs with the weights but keeping the speed and movement. I’ve been using all the ring and probably a bit too much, getting used to moving a lot because anything that can happen on the night,” Brook told Sky Sports less than three weeks before the fight
What critics fail to consider in their bleak assessment about Brook’s chances of beating Golovkin is the fact that both of them have almost the same build, with Golovkin edging Brook with just an inch in height at 5’10” against Brook’s 5’9.” Golovkin has a reach of 70″ while Brook has 69,” a difference of just an inch.
While Golovkin is slightly ahead on reach and height, Brook has a four-year advantage in age at 30 over Golovkin — who turned 34 last April.
Brook has been written off since his first day of training for the Golovkin fight largely because of the weight issues. But it really is a non-issue because Brook has almost the same body frame as Golovkin’s.
“I’m heavy but I’m using this heaviness as I would as a welterweight — keeping the speed but I’m more vicious, more natural and stronger at this weight.” he added.
If Brook is feeling just fine at 160, then he will have a good chance of pulling off the upset. What is worrying is if his speed has diminished as he moved up because he won’t be able to keep a safe distance and would be vulnerable to Golovkin’s attack.
Golovkin’s awesome punching power will be Brook’s nightmare come fight night. But Brook has a little choice at this time but to come up with a fight strategy that will address Golovkin’s punching power.
Golovkin is beatable even if he hasn’t experienced defeat in his pro career. In February last year, challenger Martin Murray showed Golovkin can be beaten with a good fight strategy. Murray took Golovkin to eleven rounds of competitive boxing. It was Golovkin’s longest fight ever in his pro career. Read more
A good defense should be in place for Brook on fight night if he needs to drag the fight to the late rounds as what Murray did when he successfully dragged the fight to the 11th round but Murray lacked speed and Golovkin took advantage of it.
It is also important for Brook to be wary of Golovkin’s deadly body shot which is known for its accuracy. Golovkin has won many of his fights using his patented body/liver shot.
